A.N: Update time! :)
Enjoy!
Chapter Two
The next day, at work, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened.
How had such an innocent-looking café by day transformed into a modern cabaret by night?
I had been stuffed into ill-fitting tight clothes that left nothing to the imagination and was forced onto the stage with no clue of what I was supposed to do.
The music had started, I remember, and I just stood back in the shadows.
People were calling out profanities and complaining and I just couldn't handle it. I had been thrown out into the open so suddenly that I didn't know what to really expect.
Eventually, Alois had rushed onto the stage and began performing in my place. I swear, I hadn't felt more embarrassed before that moment.
"Ciel, what was that?" Sebastian had asked, shocked.
"Well, what did you expect? You shoved me out there without a second thought to it!" I had argued, raising my voice.
"Looks like we'll still have to train you, then. What a pain."
After that, I had been introduced to the other people that worked in the café during the day and night.
First of all, I was more formally introduced to the redhead- Grell Sutcliff. He seemed to be rather unhealthily obsessed with Sebastian, but the bartender just pushed away his actions dismissively every time.
Then, I met Claude Faustus. He had black hair, much like Sebastian, and he wore rectangular-framed glasses over his golden eyes.
That's another thing I had noticed. Everyone's eyes were a strange color, apart from Alois'.
Next, I had been introduced to three triplets- Thompson, Timber and Canterbury. They were identical in every way, apart from the positioning of their fringes. I'd have to remember which hairstyle belonged to which triplet in order to identify them.
The triplets were subordinates, undergoing basic cooking training from the next person I was introduced to- Hannah Annafellows. She had dark skin and she wore a bandage over one eye. I wondered what made her need the bandage, but decided not to question it. Alois seemed to glare at me as I looked at it.
I seemed to be too into my thoughts. I wasn't able to concentrate at all during the day and, on more than one occasion, I found myself sketching images of either Alois or Sebastian on a scrap piece of paper.
"Ciel, what's wrong? You seem awfully out of it today," Madame Red stated as she walked into the room for the fifth time that morning.
"I'm fine, aunt," I muttered in reply.
"Whatever," she sighed. "Just remember that all that paperwork has to be handed in at the end of tomorrow."
I stared at the impossible pile of paper in front of me. The end of tomorrow? I was doomed...
9.50pm.
It was that time again.
I had been told to come back to The Manor again.
At first, I was thinking not to. Then, curiosity and attraction got the better of me.
I found out that I had actually enjoyed the previous night, regardless of how embarrassed I had been at first.
Alois was outside again, looking at me rather peculiarly, before he grabbed my wrist.
"You'll catch your death one day, keep standing outside like an idiot," he scolded, all but dragging me into the little café.
Inside, it looked the same as it had yesterday. The tables and chairs were pushed over to one side and the red and gold walls seemed even more vibrant than before. This time, subtle lights hung from the ceiling and illuminated the carpeted floor below.
It seemed more calm, more tranquil, in here than it did yesterday. Maybe it was because I hadn't been haphazardly forced in here and given a job on the spot today.
Sebastian walked up to me, taking extraordinarily long strides as he did.
"You came back, Ciel," he chimed.
"What can I say? This place is intriguing."
"That it is," Sebastian agreed.
"Hey! What are you gonna do about your stage fright, Ciel?" Alois asked.
"I have not got stage fright! I was spooked and I had no idea of what I was meant to do!" I protested.
"You're going to teach him what he needs to know, Alois. After all, you are the star of the Manor."
"What?" Alois choked. "Why me? Why can't Claude teach him?"
"Alois, don't argue with me. You're going to teach Ciel how to be a cabaret dancer whether you like it or not," Sebastian persisted and I sweatdropped.
"Do I even get a say in all this?"
"No. Now, go with Alois to start your training. We'll get a secondary dancer to fill Alois' spot in tonight's show."
With an irritated sigh, Alois grabbed my wrist and began to lead me off somewhere.
"You know, you should be lucky I'm teaching you all this," Alois commented casually as we walked.
"Really?" I asked. "How can I be lucky to be taught by someone that doesn't even want to teach me?"
"Because I'm the best here, Ciel. I never teach anyone else- that's usually Claude's job," Alois explained, though his tone seemed to be subtly laced with venom. "I don't see why Sebastian likes you so much, anyway. You're just like all the others he's taken a liking to."
"What do you mean?"
"Heh... Did you really think the people here were normal, Ciel? Me and you, we're the only humans working at The Manor."
"I'm not following, Alois. What do you mean we're the only humans here? Surely Claude, Sebastian and all the others are just like us... right?"
Alois suddenly pinned me up to a wall, a hand holding back each shoulder so I couldn't move.
"People here... aren't human. They're creatures that take on human forms. They deceive humans with their similar appearances, but they're only after one thing. Human souls.
"Sebastian and Claude, as well as Hannah and the triplets, they're demons. They make contracts with humans for their souls, or they just take them straight away.
"Grell, William and Ronald are Shinigamis. Grim Reapers. They wait until a human is due to die and then they take their souls.
"See, we aren't alone in this world."
By the time Alois had finished, my eyes were as wide as saucers. Demons and Reapers didn't exist. They were works of fiction; a fairytale. Right?
Obviously not.
"You're kidding me, right? If this place is run by demons and reapers, why are you here?"
"Same reason as you, Ciel. A demon took a liking to me," Alois let go of one of my shoulders, running his now spare hand through his hair. "Demons can be very... persuasive when a human is bent on enacting revenge. I'm contracted with Claude, but Sebastian is the only other one who knows that."
"So... I'm here because a demon wants to eat my soul?"
I was confused, to say the least. At first, I knew The Manor was a little suspicious. I mean, café by day and cabaret by night? That sort of thing only happens in fanfictions or poorly-plotted television shows.
But... To be made to work here, in a place full of creatures that hunt souls, because one demon took a liking to me on first impressions. It all seemed a little farfetched to me.
The whole aspect of this was too cliché for me to genuinely apprehend, but I knew deep down that it was probably all true.
"Exactly! Because you want revenge, a demon is willing to make a contract with you!" Alois exclaimed. Then, he let go of me entirely and I stumbled forwards at the sudden movement.
Unfortunately, Alois hadn't actually moved that far away so I crashed into him and knocked both of us to the ground. I braced myself to hit the ground hard, but I instead landed directly on top of Alois, my lips mere centimetres from the blond's. My reaction next seemed to startle Alois.
To put it calmly, I freaked out and scrambled to my feet, close to hyperventilation.
"Whoa, calm down," Alois chuckled as he stood up. "Things like that don't need such a freak-out session."
"You are kidding me, right? That was totally necessary," I said calmly, brushing myself off. "Now, come on. Are you teaching me how to be a dancer here, or what?"
"Of course!" Alois replied. "Just follow me until we get to the practice room..."
I did as I was instructed and I patiently followed Alois to an empty room at the back of the building.
The floorboards were made of a somewhat strong, polished wood and three of the four walls were a crystal white. The other wall was covered in a large pane of mirror, reflecting the dim light coming from the double doors on the opposite wall that lead to a small garden outside. Alois and I had entered the room through a door in the corner of the wall adjacent to the mirrored one. The blue-eyed blond next to me flicked a light switch on and the room lit up.
I could clearly see the light brown floor, the white walls and the shiny mirrors. The room was seemingly immaculate, but as I looked in the corners, I could see all the cobwebs and spiders that littered the place.
This place really did look like the cliché, stereotypical type of dance studio. I wonder if I was meant to learn some form of ballet here at one point...
"Taking in the view, Ciel?" Alois asked with a small grin.
"This place looks so stereotypical, it doesn't fit in with the rest of The Manor." I noted.
"Well, obviously. This place is my own personal retreat. It's part of the original building, from before Sebastian converted it into a café-slash-cabaret," The blond next to me stated, strolling causally into the room. "I come here to practice my routines during the day, when the place is a café. No one can bother me here, but I still feel so lonely here during the day. So, usually, I get Claude to come down here and keep me company."
Alois was now staring out of one of the bay windows on the wall with the double doors. It was dark outside, so I'm not sure what exactly he could have been looking at.
"Anyway, we better get started. Time's already against us, you know."
With that, I briefly glanced at my watch.
11.25pm.
Had it really been that long already? I swear, I'd lose track of the days if I stayed here too long.
"Yeah, of course. It's really late already."
Alois walked back over to me, but stopped a few steps short. He started dancing, twirling around with his arms pointed directly above him in a sort of flamenco fashion until he came to a stop directly beside me.
With a few claps, he exclaimed "Olé!' and I was just left confused.
"First rule of cabaret dancing- always know your routine. Here, I'll show you a few basic steps..."
The next few hours seemed to pass like that- Alois demonstrating a basic move and me trying to replicate it, poorly of course. I knew I had two left feet when it came to dancing, so did Alois, but the blond remained intent on trying to teach me as much as he could until the clock hit 2.30am.
"Come on, Ciel, one last time! You've got to learn this!"
"Your determination is wonderful, Alois, but I have to go. Remember, I have work in the morning."
"But, why? You're only nineteen!"
"So? In Britain, we can legally work from the age of eighteen. You know that," I stated, heading for the door.
"But you landed yourself an office job straight away. That seems a bit dumb to me," Alois retorted. "Why not live a little first?"
"I am living a little. I'm here, aren't I?"
"Well, why not work here full time? Be like me, working at night and having fun during the day!" Alois offered and I sighed.
"As much as I respect your offer, I need the money I get at my current job. Because I didn't take the company over from my parents, I'm not living a cushy lifestyle. I work to keep myself fed and housed."
"You could live here! I do and I'm perfectly fine!"
"I'm going to have to decline, Alois. I like my job. Besides, what would I do about my girlfriend? She'd flip out if she found out I was quitting my job to work here."
"That girl seems to just be weighing you down. Do what you feel is right."
"I will. Right now, that's me keeping my job."
"Whatever," Alois sighed. "Just leave. I've made you ten minutes late already. You need your precious sleep, don't you?"
Without another word, I walked out of the room.
I turned back briefly to see Alois still in there, watching me as I walked away.
There was something about him that intrigued me. Something I didn't quite know yet...
I walked back out into the main café area of the building, prepared to leave, when Sebastian stopped me.
"Going so soon?" He asked. He looked innocent, but his tone contrasted.
"Yeah, I need some sleep. I'm going home so I can work efficiently tomorrow," I explained, attempting to walk past him.
Sebastian grabbed one of my shoulders, halting me from moving any further.
"Why leave? We have plenty of rooms here~"
"No, thanks. I'd prefer to sleep in my own bed."
"Fine. Have it your way. We'll see you tonight, yes?" Sebastian asked, looking quite hopeful.
"Yes. Maybe during the day, too. I do need some lunch sometimes, after all."
A.N: Boom! Chapter two- uploaded!
Have a great day, everyone!